The Advent of Easter, Part XIV by Pamela Christian—Copyright © 2019
Our culture today is increasingly anti-Christ. In research for my book Revive Your Life! Rest for Your Anxious Heart, I discovered what I believe to be the beginning of this anti-Christ atmosphere that is displacing fundamental values in our modern times.
After study, I concluded that the major cultural shift from most people believing in the existence of God and having respect for and reverence of the Bible with its instruction for life, to the nearly complete rejection of these truths and values began with what’s referred to as the Period of Enlightenment. In the 18th century the French Enlightenment began, ultimately giving rise to the German period, culminating into what’s referred to as Protestant or Theological Liberalism. By the 19th century many people were following the philosophy of Immanuel Kant and Friedrich Schleiermacher.
Theological Liberalism grossly revised thousands of years of the commonly-held beliefs about God, about humanity and about truth itself. Protestant Liberalism tends to emphasize ethics over doctrine and personal experience over Scriptural authority. Theological Liberalism came to dominate American mainline churches in the early 20th century. Liberal Christian scholars encourage people to reject the Bible, to view truth as relative, and conclude that religions are pluralistic and non-doctrinal. Other movements that came from Theological Liberalism includes the Social Gospel, Theological Feminism, the Jesus Seminar, and others that deny the divinity of Christ and the authority of Scripture.
Fast forward to today and what we have are millions of people who have been taught truth is relative, God is what you want Him to be, and mankind is the highest authority. There is no commonly accepted grid, values, or morals, and the result is chaos, division, angst, protesting and in general a very dissatisfied and unfulfilled culture.
Reconsidering what we’ve been taught to believe takes courage. Most of us have been taught what we believe from people we highly esteem. To even question what they taught us feels like an affront to them. At the same time, when I ask people “Who in this room wants to live your life on the basis of a lie?” no one ever raises their hand. As previously posted, unless we intentionally examine what we believe and why we believe as we do, we could easily be deceived and unaware of our condition. After all, the very nature of deception is the victim is unaware. Since the nature of deception means the victim is unaware of their condition, any of us can be deceived.
Jesus claimed “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 ESV). He couldn’t be more clear, yet many to this day refuse to believe. Some decry offense, because they view the claim that Jesus is the only way as exclusive. Other’s point to the existence of many different religions and believe we should consider them all equally valid. And a growing number of people are concluding there is no God. These views are all borne from the rejection of divine revelation in favor of human reason. Where do you stand concerning these and similar claims that refute Jesus, Christianity and God?
Any measure of doubt or disbelief tremendously hinders our ability to experience a vital connection with God through faith in Jesus. It’s very difficult to live in this fallen world and not be adversely impacted by popular culture, ideals, and philosophies. Yet Christians are admonished to understand they are presently in this world but no longer of the world. We are to live with a confident faith conviction and from this foundation we can experience the promises of God for our lives on earth. If, as a Christian, you are not enjoying a confident faith—a single focused, unwavering faith—I suggest you have adopted and commingled worldly ideas with your knowledge of Jesus.
Confession and repentance are two significant aspects of this Lenten Season. Consider what you believe and identify those areas where you have any measure of unbelief, doubt, or uncertainty. Understand, it is not a sin to have unbelief, doubt, or be uncertain. But, to knowingly remain in that condition without intentionally seeking to discover the resolution of truth, will adversely impact your faith. Take time in the next few days praying and asking the Holy Spirit to reveal weak areas of your faith. Imagine how glorious your life will be once you truly possess a vibrant, confident, unwavering faith! If you have “mountains” in your life you need removed, it’s essential you have faith without doubt.
The great divide Jesus creates is the topic for the next blog post.
For April 1-2, 2019 read and meditate on the following Scriptures:
Isaiah 53:3; Matthew 10:33; Matthew 13:53-58; Mark 8:38; Mark 11:23-24; Acts 3:13-15; Romans 1:16-32; 2 Corinthians 10:3-6; Titus 1:16; James 1:1-8; 2 Peter 2:1; 1 John 2:22
Scroll down below to access earlier posts in this series. To view the entire list of planned devotions, see the Introduction.
Note: All the books in the award-winning Faith to Live By series are written to help people discover and live in life-giving truth. Visit the Author Page to learn more about the different books. When you purchase any of my products, you are helping support the ministry and spread the gospel of Jesus.
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